Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates pleaded guilty to two felony charges stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging Russia investigation.
Flanked by his counsel Tom Green in federal court in Washington, Gates pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against the U.S. and one count of making a false statement.
The guidelines advisory sentencing ranges from 57 months to 71 months, but U.S. Judge Amy Berman Jackson said government prosecutors can request a shorter sentence “based on your cooperation.”
Jackson confirmed that as part of the lea deal agreement, Gates must cooperate on “all matters” deemed relevant by Mueller’s team.
No sentencing date has been set yet, but a status report is due by May 14.
In a statement, Gates’ partner, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, maintained his innocence.
“Notwithstanding that Rick Gates pled today, I continue to maintain my innocence,” he said in a statement. “I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence. For reasons yet to surface, he chose to do otherwise. This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me.”
Manafort and Gates were first charged by Mueller in October, and they both pleaded not guilty.
As part of his plea, Gates admitted that he worked on “criminal schemes” with Manafort that involved disguising millions of dollars in offshore accounts as loans to avoid paying taxes. Gates also admitted that he helped Manafort avoid registering as a lobbyist for the Ukrainian figures he represented.
According to federal prosecutors, Gates’ lie came while he was negotiating a plea deal earlier this year.
When talking to Mueller’s team and FBI investigators on Feb. 1, Gates knowingly lied that “there were no discussions of Ukraine” at a March 19, 2013 meeting between Manafort, “a senior Company A lobbyist” and “a Member of Congress.”
Though Gates was not at the meeting, he did help Manafort put together “a report that memorialized for Ukraine leadership the pertinent Ukraine discussions that Manafort represented had taken place at the meeting.”
On Thursday, Mueller filed a new 32-count indictment against Gates and Manafort, including charges of tax and bank fraud. That case will proceed as a new case in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Gates now becomes the fifth person and third member of the Trump campaign to plead guilty in Mueller’s probe, which he took over in May.
Earlier this week, attorney Alex van der Zwaan of law firm Skadden Arps, pleaded guilty to lying to Mueller’s team about his communications with Gates.
